March 7
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
columnist Rob Rossi
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Witness his selfless act from Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. After his two-way show on Broadway, Staal sought out members of the Penguins media relations staff and pleaded that his winning goal be awarded to center Evgeni Malkin, whose point-shot on an overtime power play had been tipped home by Staal from in front of the net ? at least, according to the replay-watching eyes of on-site NHL official scorers. The NHL awarded that goal to Malkin on Friday morning, leaving Staal with 18 ? he scored Saturday vs. Dallas ? heading into today's game against Boston. Honesty is refreshing in the often disgusting world of professional sports. Staal's often underappreciated game is finally ..."
March 5
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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This was a battle of goaltenders, although the one who struggled and got the hook was on the winning side and the one who made one spectacular save after another ended up on the losing side. Jordan Staal scored a power-play goal 3:42 into overtime, tipping an Evgeni Malkin slap shot past Henrik Lundqvist to lift the Penguins to a 5-4 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. Lundqvist finished with a career-high 50 saves but couldn't withstand the offensive assault of the Penguins, who fired 55 shots on net to overcome a poor performance by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Eighteen days had passed between Fleury's starts in goal, a period he mostly spent ..."
February 5
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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It is important, Jordan Staal insisted, that by Sunday night he can have played more consecutive NHL games (technically) than any player to wear a Penguins sweater. More important to Staal is that general manager Ray Shero plans on keeping him in that sweater for a long time. Shero reiterated earlier this week that he "is certainly not interested in" trading the third of three cornerstone centers. Staal isn't "too worried about it" either. His job is to play, and he has no rival among teammates in that category. Staal is slated to play in his 327th consecutive game (counting playoffs) on Saturday afternoon at Montreal. "I've been blessed ... fortunate enough to be injury-free," he said, ..."
February 1
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
columnist Kevin Gorman
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As if seeing Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin on the ice together for the opening faceoff wasn't daunting enough, imagine what was going through the minds of the Detroit Red Wings when Staal split their top defensive pairing for a shorthanded shot in the second period. Anyone have a flashback of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final? Detroit tends to bring out the best in Staal, who has tortured the Red Wings in their past nine meetings by scoring five goals, including a third-period hat trick in an overtime victory in November 2008. "I guess so," Staal said. "They're always big games and they're always tough. It's always exciting and challenging for any player out there." Staal didn't score a ..."
December 22
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Penguins center Jordan Staal was bloodied tonight by a puck to the face near the midpoint of the second period at Mellon Arena against the New Jersey Devils. While trying to win possession in a battle with Devils defenseman Colin White deep in the New Jersey zone, the puck was deflected into Staal near his nose and left eye. He collapsed to the ice and covered his face and dripped blood on the artificial surface. Teammate Matt Cooke assisted him to the dressing room where he was being evaluated by team physicians."
December 7
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Offensive production isn't everything when it comes to assessing center Jordan Staal's value to the Penguins, but it's meant a lot lately. "Jordan is better every shift," center Evgeni Malkin said. Since opening November with four losses in five games, the Penguins have won eight of 11, and Staal - a 21-year-old center whose defense has proven as consistently excellent as Internet trade rumors involving him have been false - is on a career-best offensive swing. With a point in 10 of 11 games, Staal has produced four goals and seven assists over that span. His latest tally earned the Penguins (20-9-1, 41 points) a point on Saturday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Pouncing on a loose ..."
November 23
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Penguins center Jordan Staal scored as many goals in the Stanley Cup Final as goalie Marc-Andre Fleury surrendered over the final two games. The number is two, and time will soon show if those difference-making performances were enough to convince Detroit Red Wings vice president Steve Yzerman to include them on Canada's roster for the 2010 Olympics in February. "It's not a bad thing to think about that," said Staal, who is likely among six players a member of Team Canada's management team said are "fighting for two or three spots." "My view is that you want to give them the best opportunity," Doug Armstrong recently told the Canadian Press. "The way to do that is you have to see them on ..."
November 7
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
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Penguins center Jordan Staal offered only a few words Friday to dispute a suggestion that he is a more productive player when skating less than 20 minutes during a game. "The more I play, the better I feel usually," he said after a practice at Sharks Ice that lasted more than 90 minutes. Getting Staal top-tier minutes will be the plan tonight when the Penguins (12-4-0, 24 points) try to regroup from a disappointing loss Thursday nigh at Los Angeles, where they allowed four third-period goals, in a showdown with the San Jose Sharks (11-4-2, 24 points) at HP Pavilion. A breakdown of his statistics over coach Dan Bylsma's 41 regular-season games with the Penguins indicate that Staal, still ..."